Agriculture
ZIG Watch : Issue 10
Sokwanele Article: November 6th, 2009
"There is nothing in the GPA that has not been done by ZANU PF, nothing at all. We have fulfilled everything that the GPA wanted us to fulfill": Robert Mugabe, 24 October 2009
October has been a month characterised by violence, lawlessness, corruption and the complete abuse of power for partisan and personal objectives. Despite Robert Mugabe’s outrageous claim to the contrary, Sokwanele has logged an incredible 3850 breaches of the GPA by Zanu PF since the start of the ZIG Watch project, making this party responsible for 88.8% of all breaches logged up until the end of October.
October began in the wake of a international public campaign demanding that Nestle stop buying milk from Gushungo Dairy Estate which is owned by Grace Mugabe. Recognising the public’s disgust, Nestle quickly capitulated and in so doing exposed itself to ruthless elements that serve to protect and defend the Zanu PF elite business interests. Nestle bank accounts were frozen by the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe who also ordered a forensic audit into its dealings. (The Reserve Bank Governor, Gideon Gono, is staunchly loyal to the Mugabe’s and Zanu PF.) Zanu PF Youths cryptically threatened to “lose it” if the company did not resume buying milk from Gushengo, and the so-called Affirmative Action Group – loyal to the Zanu PF party – threatened to take over Nestle Zimbabwe if the company did not resume its purchases. Actions like these arguably have a far more damaging impact on any prospects for investment in the country than the targeted sanctions Zanu PF is so anxious to have removed.
ZIG Watch : Issue 8
Sokwanele Article: September 7th, 2009
August saw the continuation of the chaos in Zimbabwe, with ever more breaches of the GPA being recorded, the majority of which fell into the following categories:
- wanton politically motivated violence, or violence driven by politicians or petty officials,
- harassment, and deprivation of freedom, of individuals through contrived arrests on spurious charges,
- widespread corruption involving senior public and uniformed figures,
- the deprivation of the right to Freedom of Expression, and the abuse thereof,
- violent, unconstitutional, invasions and seizures of property and farms, and
- deliberate attempts to derail the Constitution-making process.
The month of August has seen a notable increase in breaches in these two areas:
‘Mugabe and the White African’ wins award for World Feature at SILVERDOCS
Sokwanele Article: June 24th, 2009
From the SILVERDOCS website:
This year’s SILVERDOCS Sterling Award for a World Feature goes to MUGABE AND THE WHITE AFRICAN directed by Lucy Bailey and Andrew Thompson, which explores, through the lens of a 74-year-old white farmer, Zimbabwe President Robert Mugabe’s deeply controversial land seizure program, which intended to re-distribute white-owned farmland. The director will receive $10,000 cash.
